EvilPhoEniX

This is just so bland. I don't think George Clooney has ever makes a good movie. I found it very clunky, boring and long-winded. Matt Damon wasn't a good fit for the role, the plot didn't work for me, I didn't find anything funny, and there is a minor editing error in the finale, but it doesn't save the film. It made me suffer. 35%

Yeah, it's in a similar vein to the first one. Mila Kunis is very cute and Kathryn Hahn plays a female Stifler and I enjoy it. A few lines made me laugh and the Christmas atmosphere is nice. A fine comedy for one viewing even if more of a chick flick. 65%.

For the month of January, definitely the most interesting addition to the horror genre, but still nothing that I'll remember fondly. The protagonist and her friends find a game in the attic where they summon a demon called Midnight Man who supposedly uses your fear against you, but that's all talk unfortunately. The opening scene and the slaughter of the children is gritty and solid, but then unfortunately 40 minutes of "boredom" ensues as running around the house with candles doesn't do much for me. After that, however the film picks up quite nicely and there is no shortage of great gore, dark atmosphere and a very creepy Lin Shaye, who gave me chills in one scene. Robert Englund makes an appearance, but doesn't bring anything too important to the film. The acting is mediocre, the two main characters were amateurish in my opinion, saved by the beauty of the main character and Lin Shaye. Visually it was also a rather cheap affair, but it was surprising how good the make-up effects turned out. It's a thunderous 80's B-movie, but it's eager and inoffensive. 65%.

January is classically dead for horror movies and this new release, with Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair, doesn't impress much either. The idea is great, but very underutilized. All of a sudden the parents want to kill their children and an epidemic breaks out. Unfortunately the murders are out of frame, so once again a horror film without blood, which is a big thumbs down. The film also didn't have much humour and Cage overacted tragically, it's amazing how a once excellent actor has now fallen to an absolute acting low. Fortunately the film doesn't get significantly boring somehow and there is the occasional thrilling scene, but otherwise it’s pretty pointless for me. 55%

The French have been doing the comedies right lately. Again, an unusual original idea with the brilliant Christian Clavier, who lives a happy luxurious life with his beautiful wife, but their idyll is disrupted by a Roma family with a caravan who move into their garden. There are funny moments and above all it is fun to see the differences and traditions of the Roma. Good stuff. 75%.

More of a chick flick, but very entertaining to watch. The wife and mistresses get revenge on the unfaithful Lannister and some of the banter is very hilarious. Good fun with a sexy Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton. 65.

The first cinema experience of the year. Scott Cooper serves up a gritty adventure western with the Apache! Starring a solid Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike and Ben Foster. The film has a slower pace, but a very tense atmosphere, beautiful scenery, lots of disgusting maniacal Apaches who have no problem murdering an entire family and their children (the opening scene is very intense) and a great soundtrack. There are only four action scenes, but they are authentically filmed, with excellent sound design and very tense to the point of being breathless. This dead genre has been slowly reviving and gaining momentum for the last two years and that's only a good thing. 75%

Technically it’s fine and the premise is cool, but horror-wise it's weak. I had the impression that I was watching a crime drama with a mysterious touch. It was good, but it could have been better. 50%

An average silly thriller with an angry and determined Halle Berry. Fortunately, the film has a decent pace, sleazy bad guys and entertains nicely for 90 minutes, so as an unpretentious flick on a dull evening Kidnap holds up just fine, but it could have been better. The Call was twice as good. 60%

Guillermo Del Toro and his new film The Shape of Water unfortunately didn't impress me and del Toro has disappointed me after a long time. While The Shape of Water garnered rave reviews and won awards at the Golden Globes for Best Director and Best Score, and I certainly can't deny the solid direction, the period atmosphere and decent performances, Michael Shannon as the bad guy is perhaps the best thing about the whole film, but the rest of the cast left me cold. The film has quite a plodding pace, an unlikeable main character who is so desperate that she's having it out with a Fish Man, and too much romance for my taste that the suspense and the few brutal scenes remain rather in the background. Surprisingly the humour works here though (“Never trust a man even if he is flat down there”). As a romantic fairytale about a mute girl who falls in love with a monster it seems to work, as a horror film it hardly works at all. But it will find its audience, a female audience I suppose. 45%